WinkTerm: AI That Shares Your Terminal Session (Not Just Command Suggestions)

Cznorth — Mon, 04 May 2026 09:36:21 +0000

The Problem with AI Terminals Today

Every AI terminal tool works the same way: you describe what you want, the AI suggests a command, you copy it, alt-tab, paste it, run it, check the output, alt-tab back, describe the next thing... rinse and repeat.

There is a cognitive cost to every context switch. When you are debugging a production issue at 2 AM, those seconds add up.

A Different Approach: Shared PTY

WinkTerm takes a different approach. Instead of suggesting commands in a separate chat window, the AI writes directly into your shell input line inside the same PTY session. You press Enter to execute, backspace to edit, or Ctrl+C to cancel.

$ # why is nginx returning 502?
[WinkTerm] Let me check the nginx error logs...
[WinkTerm] I can see the upstream is unreachable. Try this:
$ curl -I http://localhost:3000

How It Works

When you type something starting with # in your terminal, it gets intercepted by the backend agent (LangGraph) instead of being sent to the shell. The agent can read terminal context, execute commands, or write commands to your input line.

Tech Stack

Backend: Python 3.12 + FastAPI + LangGraph
Frontend: Next.js 14 + TypeScript + xterm.js
Deployment: Docker Compose or desktop app

Quick Start

docker run -p 3000:3000 -p 8000:8000 -e ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your-key ghcr.io/cznorth/winkterm:latest

Open http://localhost:3000

Why WinkTerm?

Unlike other AI terminals (Warp, Tabby, Claude Code), WinkTerm lets the AI share your actual PTY session. No copy-paste, no context switching. AI writes directly into your input line, you decide to execute, edit, or cancel.

MIT licensed, bring your own LLM, SSH support included.

https://github.com/Cznorth/winkterm